The Springboks cannot surrender the No 1 ranking this weekend.
Rassie Erasmus’ men will stay top even if they lose by more than 15 points to Ireland in Dublin.
World Rugby has also confirmed that the Boks, All Blacks, England, Ireland and Argentina cannot drop out of Band 1 ahead of the 2027 World Cup draw on 3 December.
The Boks can gain up to 1.32 points for beating Ireland by more than 15 points, and it is possible that their cushion at the top could be as much as 6.57 points if New Zealand and England suffer similarly heavy losses to Wales and Argentina, respectively.
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However, France are in a bit of a conundrum.
Les Bleus will drop two places to seventh if they lose to Australia by more than 15 points, an outcome which will see the Wallabies placed into Pool A of Band 1 as the host nation.
Argentina’s comeback victory over Scotland last weekend means that they will remain in sixth even if they suffer a heavy loss to England in the last match of the weekend.
Argentina, though, are one of four teams that could end the weekend in second place with New Zealand, Ireland and England also eyeing the spot.
The All Blacks could win and still lose second spot if Ireland beat the Boks by more than 15 points.
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England will move to second if they beat Los Pumas – taking their winning run to 11 Tests – and New Zealand and Ireland fail to win their final matches of the year.
New Zealand can fall no lower than fourth if beaten by Wales in Cardiff, while the lowest England can fall is sixth with a heavy loss.
There will also be plenty of eyes on Tbilisi where 11th-ranked Georgia host Japan in 13th.
Georgia will secure a place in Band 2 for the draw if they avoid defeat against Japan.
A draw will see the Lelos drop below Wales into 12th place, even if the Welsh are beaten by New Zealand, given they will lose no rating points as a consequence of the 16.09-point differential between the teams before home weighting is factored in.
Japan must beat Georgia to replace the Lelos in the top 12 after their last-gasp 23-24 loss to Wales last weekend in Cardiff.
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Fiji, Scotland and Italy are also guaranteed their place in Band 2 regardless of their results against the lower-ranked Spain, Tonga and Chile, respectively.
The Flying Fijians can only gain a maximum of 0.16 rating points for beating Spain, meaning they cannot improve on eighth place even if Australia, above them, lose to France.
Scotland and Italy will not gain any rating points for beating Tonga and Chile.
However, Scotland will regain the eighth place they lost after letting slip a 21-0 advantage over Argentina to lose last weekend if they win and Fiji lose to Spain.
Scotland will drop to 10th if they suffer a second loss to Tonga and Italy beat Chile, dropping the Scots below Italy for the first time since February 2013.
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That would become 11th if they lose by more than 15 points and Wales stun New Zealand by the same margin, the Welsh returning to the top 10 for the first time since July 2024.
World Rugby rankings (top 15)
1. South Africa 93.06
2. New Zealand 90.33
3. England 89.09
4. Ireland 88.85
5. France 87.07
6. Argentina 85.30
7. Australia 81.69
8. Fiji 81.03
9. Scotland 80.22
10. Italy 78.98
11. Georgia 74.69
12. Wales 74.23
13. Japan 72.58
14. Spain 69.12
15. Uruguay 68.52
Photo: Brendan Moran/Gallo Images
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